He was given a second chance but 'Piggy Wilson' just couldn't help himself

An EncroChat drug trafficker known as "Piggy Wilson" enjoyed a luxury lifestyle with jet skis, luxury watches and a Range Rover funded through his life of crime.

But Anthony Wilson's decades of involvement in the underworld also saw him handed more than 35 years behind bars for drug offences. He is now facing his lengthiest sentence to date after using the encrypted communications platform to trade in wholesale quantities of heroin and cocaine plotting deals with a family member.

Liverpool Crown Court heard this week the 43-year-old secretly utilised the handle "BushSky" on EncroChat. Messages revealed when the network was infiltrated by the French police during 2020 Wilson, originally from the Walton Vale area, was involved in "organising and directing the purchase and supply" of 16kg of cocaine and 2kg of heroin.

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Matthew Conway, prosecuting, referenced a sample of his communications - including those exchanged with his cousin Daniel Shepherd who went by the username "Vain Crane". The 32-year-old, from Kirkdale, was locked up for 11-and-a-half years last month.

Wilson's conversations were said to have evidenced his involvement in the drug trade "on a commercial scale" in the "expectation of a substantial financial advantage". Messages also revealed a county lines-style "graft" operation in the Bootle and Kirkdale areas known as "Piggy Wilson" which was said to have been named after the defendant.

Wilson's home in Lentworth Drive, Worsley, was raided by Merseyside Police on August 26, 2021. During a search, officers seized £740 in cash from a downstairs workroom and more than £26,000 from inside a box on top of a bedroom wardrobe and branded with the logo of luxury label Valentino.

An encrypted Google phone with a Russian SIM card was also recovered from the same room. Wilson answered no comment to detectives after being taken into custody at Copy Lane Police Station.

Wilson has 14 previous convictions for 40 offences dating back to 1996. These include 33 months for possession of heroin and cocaine with intent to supply in 2004 and a 10-year term for conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to commit an offence outside England and Wales in 2014.

The ECHO previously reported this came after Wilson headed a gang which dealt large quantities of heroin and cocaine across Merseyside and further afield with members being jailed for a total of 35 years. This allowed the then 33-year-old to live a "luxury lifestyle" - with a Range Rover, expensive watches and jet skiing.

Daniel Travers, appearing for the prosecution on this occasion, outlined how around 5kg of class A drugs seized as part of a police operation into the organised crime group between May and July 2013, provided only a "snapshot" into their overall activities. This amounted to 496g of cocaine, 1.5kg of crack and 1.8kg of heroin valued at more than £250,000.

The former was said to have been of "import purity" while 3kg of cutting agents also recovered showed the outfit was also involved in "bashing" its goods in order to increase profits. When Wilson’s West Lancs home was raided, officers found £4,000 in cash, a Breitling watch worth £3,000 and a Rolex which would have been worth £17,000 when bought new.

He also had six mobile phones and a deposit receipt for a £55,000 static caravan parked in Heysham where police found two jet skis worth £10,000. Judge Andrew Hatton described him as "top of the tree" and said he used subordinates "to do the dirty work".

Anthony Barraclough, defending, told the court during Wilson's latest appearance on Wednesday his client served 23 months on licence after being recalled to prison on the latter sentence. He added: "His assertions are that he was a facilitator or broker and took a cream off the profit which seems to be a common situation in these cases.

"He is not an importer or a street dealer, he is a middle man. It is sadly becoming common that people are throwing away many years of their lives for getting involved, or in this case getting involved again. He is not the chief executive. He is, we say, the broker."

Mr Barraclough also cited a recent incident behind bars during which Wilson stopped a fellow inmate who was "high on spice" from attacking a guard. He said: "He is a model prisoner. It shows a different side to the character of this man, who is a drug trafficker - I do not say dyed in the wool, but he has got a number of offences. But there is another side to him.

"Some judges say that everyone is sorry when they are facing a sentence. My submission is that there is substantial and true remorse."

Wilson admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. Appearing via video link from HMP Liverpool wearing a grey Under Armour zip-up top, he shook his head and said "joke that you know" after being jailed for 14-and-a-half years.

Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: "The supply of class A drugs on whatever level is always a serious crime but the levels involved in this case are very serious. I am sure you know only too well the destruction and misery caused by class A drugs.

"Put simply, drugs wreck the lives of users and turn them to substantial amounts of crime in order to fund their own habits. It massively impacts upon families who try to support their own family members who are in the grip of addiction.

"The community bears the impact of this trade and society ultimately picks up the human cost in terms of health, crime and ultimately the imprisonment of those convicted and sentenced. Your offences are made more serious by your previous offences.

"You had been released only a short while before becoming involved in these conspiracies. You learned seemingly nothing from that period in custody. You have clearly reflected heavily upon the last four years of your life, and I am sure that you now express genuine remorse for being involved in this trade. I am sure there is another side to you.

"When you are eventually released, the work you have done over the course of the last three-and-a-half years will be an encouraging sign to society in the future that you will be a more productive member of it rather than reverting back straight away to organised crime. It is entirely in your hands."

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